


Have you told them?

by AbelQuartz



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, I Love You, Kissing, Romantic Fluff, Secret Relationship, Spoilers, Summer, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-26 22:51:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20035312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbelQuartz/pseuds/AbelQuartz
Summary: Steven and Connie meet up after work and school. It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last.





	Have you told them?

**Author's Note:**

> Based on some cute sketches by @Katie_TheSlayer on Twitter! SMORCH.

The Dondai was as easy to drive as anything. Greg had taught Steven in the van the day after his sixteenth, but its bulkiness combined with Greg’s inherent protective nature about the vehicle was a poor combination, and Steven was effectively the only one who used the Dondai anyway. The teenager tugged on the collar of his jacket as he waited for the light to turn. There was still time. Connie would have been patient if he was late, anyway.

Driving down from his part-time at the grocery store to the lighthouse bluff took less than fifteen minutes. The early sunset was just coloring the clouds on the horizon, giving the afternoon’s white a hint of gold. Fall was coming again. It brought a crispness to the air and a sense of calm attention that the summer heat had lacked. Steven sighed and tried to keep his heart from asking the questions about timing and the future, about what winter would bring when Connie turned sixteen as well. There were caveats and consequences they had to consider, but meeting like this was worth the risk.

Steven parked in front of the Big Donut, closed early so Dewey could go have dinner with his family. The boy locked his car and started the jog up the hill. He would later park back at his father’s wash, but he wanted to be as close as possible for now.

On top of the hill, Steven stumbled to a halt when he saw her lying down. Connie’s hair was let loose, a black band secured around each wrist. The blue and white stripes were stretched as the girl stretched her arms above her head, creating a gap of skin between the shirt and the waist of her denim shorts. She turned her head and smiled. One leg bent as she arched her back, stretching even more as she relaxed.

“I’m gonna miss being able to wear shorts all the time,” she said, “but I’m not gonna miss the heat.”

“Heh, yeah, it was a pretty bad summer.”

“C’mere.”

Steven knelt obediently as Connie sat up. Her socks and sneakers were in a pile where she had tossed them. The strength of her presence was always marvelous. He felt bad thinking in certain terms, but he just loved sometimes to look at Connie’s body. She was a work of art, a living sun, and Steven felt his tongue swell with a loss of words as he sat next to her.

It had been a problem more and more frequently, but Connie never seemed to mind. He knew it would only be a second before his flabbergasted nature moved on to actually talking to his best friend. She deserved to be spoken to, like a person, and she deserved everything that he could give her. Steven took a moment to compose himself before he scooted closer and worked his fingers in between Connie’s to squeeze. Finally, he could ground himself, remind himself that she was human.

“Work go okay?”

“Y-yeah! Just stocking, the usual. I saw Vidalia and Onion come by in the morning.”

“How’s his signing going?”

“I got a hello and some questions - but I mean, we’ve known him for a while. He’s still working on strangers and classmates but Vidalia’s really happy with the school.”

The word ‘school’ made Connie grimace a little, but she nodded in stride and squeezed Steven’s hand back. High school was just starting up again for her, and that meant less time, fewer opportunities they had had to get together. The cusp of her birthday would be leading into conversations about study breaks and getting together to work after-school when they had time.

“Have you talked to the Gems yet?” Connie said.

Steven’s stomach tightened, and he looked away from Connie out towards the ocean.

“N-no. Have you talked to your parents?”

“Definitely not. But I think they have some idea.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s...been a few years, right?” Steven chuckled. “And I mean, with all we’ve been through, and all the time we’ve spent and the conversations we have, I-I would think it’s kinda obvious at least a little. Right?”

Steven reached with a free hand and rubbed the back of his head. He felt Connie moving next to him, and as soon as her lips touched his neck his entire body tingled with the touch. Sparks bounced from Connie’s lips to his skin, to his spine and all down each and every one of his hairs. She saw him shudder as she pulled back, and covered her mouth to laugh. Steven sucked in air through his teeth and grabbed the grass to get balanced again. He wished she hadn’t discovered that little trick, but not as much as he wished she wouldn’t draw back so soon.

“If I acted as openly as you did, then I’m sure they’d know,” Connie murmured.

“Trrrrrrue. Hrf. You’re mean, you know that?”

“I’m evil. I’m the final boss, after you defeat all the Gem monsters!”

“Avast, I’ll strike you where you stand!”

The pair giggled, and Connie whooped as Steven vaulted over and raised a leg to sit on top of Connie and let go of her hands, mock-pushing on her shoulders to pin her back to the ground. Immediately, his smile faded as Connie continued to laugh. He saw how big his hands were against her, the shadow of his body covering her completely, the lack of resistance, shame, or fear as she let her voice fade into happy sighing. She caught his look and tilted her head.

“Something the matter, Steven Universe?”

The teenager opened his mouth partially, then let it close again. This wasn’t right, not like this, not in his head. Fantasy planning compelled him to change the scene. He moved his hands down to the ground and pushed himself upright with a single grunt and a twist to plant his feet flat. Connie reached up as he reached down, and she let herself be pulled to stand as well. Steven slid his fingers down Connie’s arms towards her shoulders, and pulled her towards him. He wanted the pull, not the push. He wanted her with him, not underneath. All the useless symbols in his head mattered. Connie mattered.

Half of the girl’s curious expression was in sunlight, and the other half shrouded in the shadow of the day. Steven could read all the things that she wanted to say, and he wanted to repeat them from his own heart. Words had no power when the mouth was already occupied.

Like the sun and the horizon, Connie and Steven met together at the mouth, eyes closed and bodies closer. Connie’s hands rested on her best friend’s hips, inside his jacket, and Steven let his own rest on Connie’s shoulders as they kissed. It was such a warm kiss, a slow kiss, taking all the time that it could. They knew that they couldn’t spend their whole lives in this moment, but they both wanted to make it last for a lifetime. Steven felt her lips parting to meet his own, and he offered his mouth to her as much as his nerves could handle. Partially open and completely in sync, each teenager tasted the love on the other, until they let time break the moment and their mouths fell away. 

Steven opened his eyes and looked straight into Connie’s own. He wanted to smile and tell her about all the things he wanted for her, the plans and the love and the wonder of the future. Friendship had been temporarily shadowed by infatuation, but friendship had broken through and now, on the edge of romance, Steven didn’t want to be worried about losing her. But they were so young, and there was so much more to come in their lives. All they could do was go forwards and hope.

“...hey.”

Connie broke her serious face to snort in laughter at Steven’s sudden interjection.

“Yes, Steven?”

“Love you.”

Connie let her hands wrap around Steven’s body as she hugged him close. The teenager let his arms do they same as they rocked, swaying in the wind on the bluff. Only the lighthouse witnessed them, and only the sun warmed them. Fall was coming.

“Love you too, Steven.”

Steven closed his eyes in satisfaction. Greg would be perfectly fine with Steven starting to date, he knew, with plenty of advice to follow. The Gems would have questions, but knowing Connie, they would be more supportive than the boy could ever dream. Priyanka and Doug were the only barriers in the moment, but there was a long way to go. Steven let Connie warm him as they stood together, body to body and heart to heart. There was so much more love to come. There was so much more sunlight.


End file.
